Sen. Hueso’s bad geothermal bill may become law

The California Legislature may be on the verge of approving a bill that represents the worst of government interference where it isn’t needed or wanted. It is bad energy policy. It will raise consumer electricity rates here by an estimated $450 million. It is opposed by conservative business groups, liberal consumer groups, renewable energy companies and the state Public Utilities Commission. But it may well pass.

The legislation is SB 1139, authored by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego. It would force the state’s three investor-owned utilities — SDG&E, PG&E and Southern California Edison — to buy 500 megawatts of geothermal power annually from the Imperial Valley by 2024. It is intended to kick-start the development of geothermal power in the valley.

SDG&E says geothermal power costs 40 percent more than other renewable energy resources. SB 1139 could force the utility to dump other renewables that are already delivering energy to the grid.

State energy policy should be applied fairly. If Big Government is going to mandate that investor-owned utilities buy a certain form of power, it should also mandate municipal utilities to buy it. Astoundingly, this legislation even exempts the Imperial Irrigation District, the third-largest public power provider in the state and which stands to benefit greatly from geothermal development in the long term.

The bill passed the Senate earlier without a vote to spare. It could come up for a final vote in the Assembly as early as Wednesday afternoon. We urge the San Diego County delegation to unite in opposition. We urge the Assembly to reject it. And, if it passes, we urge Gov. Jerry Brown to veto it.